The Charlotte Hornets will travel to Colorado to face the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena on Sunday evening. It’s time to continue our NBA odds series with a Hornets-Nuggets prediction and pick.
The Hornets lost 125-106 at home to the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night. Lamelo Ball led the Hornets with 27 points while shooting 9 of 18 from the floor. Remarkably, he also shot 7 of 13 from beyond the arc. Terry Rozier added 10 points with nine assists. Meanwhile, Kelly Oubre came off the bench to score 16 points while shooting just 5 of 19 from the floor, including 3 of 10 from the triples. Nick Richards added 13 points.
The Nuggets fell 126-108 to the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night in Southern California. Nikola Jokc had 25 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists, and four steals. However, he also committed five turnovers. Jamal Murray added 23 points, five rebounds, and six assists. Likewise, Aaron Gordon added 17 points. The bench struggled, scoring only 23 points.
The Nuggets lead the all-time series 34-30 against the Hornets. Additionally, they are 21-11 against the Hornets at home in their history. The Hornets are 2-8 over their previous 10 games and just 3-11 on the road. Meanwhile, the Nuggets are 6-4 over their past 10 contests and 8-3 at Ball Arena.
Here are the Hornets-Nuggets NBA odds, courtesy of FanDuel
NBA Odds: Hornets-Nuggets Odds
Charlotte Hornets: +9 (-108)
Denver Nuggets: -9 (-112)
Over: 235.5 (-110)
Under: 235.5 (-110)
Why The Hornets Could Cover The Spread
The Hornets expected to compete for a playoff spot this season. Instead, everything has gone wrong and they find themselves with a 7-22 record and at the bottom of the standings. The main issue has been scoring. Significantly, they have not been able to consistently score and have floundered throughout the first couple of months of the season.
Rozier averages 21.8 points per game with a paltry 39.8 percent shooting and 5.7 assists per game. Moreover, he has proven inconsistent and his 10-point effort the other night showed how up-and-down his season has been. Ball averages 21.6 points per game on 44.9 percent shooting with seven assists per game. Likewise, Oubre Jr. averages 20.9 points per game. Gordon Hayward averages 15.7 points per game while shooting 43.9 percent from the hardwood.
The Hornets are 24th in scoring, last in field goal shooting percentage, and 28th in 3-point shooting percentage. Ultimately, the Hornets miss plenty of shots and must find ways to generate better shooting opportunities. Their bad shooting has led to many chances for the opposition on the fast-break and caused them to fall behind too often. Additionally, they are not good at the line, either. Charlotte ranks 26th from the charity stripe. Thus, they are not converting on their chances and struggling to generate any momentum on offense.
But the Hornets excel on the boats and handling the ball. Substantially, they rank sixth in rebounds and ninth in turnovers. The Hornets are in the middle of the pack on defense, ranking 16th in blocks.
The Hornets will cover the spread if they can slow down the pace and generate better shooting opportunities. Ultimately, it will help them on the defensive end, where they must stop Jokic from dominating them.
Why The Nuggets Could Cover The Spread
The Nuggets are supposed to be a powerful Western Conference team. So far, they have accomplished that, as they are 17-11 and third in the west. But there has been some inconsistency, and they have not converted every chance.
Jokic averages 24.6 points per game and shoots 62.9 percent from the field. Additionally, he also averages 10.3 rebounds and nine assists per game. Murray averages 18 points per game but is shooting only 44.4 percent from the floor. Gordon averages 16.9 points per game on 61 percent shooting. Also, he averages 6.3 rebounds per contest. Michael Porter Jr. has been out with a heel injury since November 23. Ultimately, the Nuggets missed his production. Porter averages 16.4 points per game and shoots 46.6 percent from the hardwood.
Denver ranks sixth in points, first in field goal percentage, and first in triples. Amazingly, the Nuggets have fielded enough depth to allow themselves to endure an injury or two and still produce without a beat. The Nuggets struggle at the charity stripe, where they rank 24th. The Nuggets are 17th in rebounds and 19th in blocked shots. Consequently, they have turned the ball over too much, ranking 23rd in turnovers.
The Nuggets will cover the spread if Jokic and Murray can dominate, leaving the Hornets chasing them. Additionally, they must avoid turnovers.
Final Hornets-Nuggets Prediction & Pick
The Nuggets have too much talent to allow the Hornets to compete with them. Moreover, they want to recover from Friday’s loss and a great performance can help them get there. Expect the Nuggets to bounce back with a vengeance and contain the swarm.
Final Hornets-Nuggets Prediction & Pick: Denver Nuggets: -9 (-112)
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